When each day presents a fresh bombardment of sobering statistics and news of impending climate catastrophes, viable solutions to these colossal issues still seem too few and far between.

Among the many crises bearing down on our collective horizon, perhaps none is so uniquely threatening to populations worldwide as that of water scarcity. Tomorrow morning, more than one billion people will wake up without access to clean water, a number that is only expected to quadruple by 2030.

As climate change, industrial agriculture, and surging populations deplete and contaminate dwindling freshwater sources, all eyes have turned to the oceans, where 97 percent of the world’s water supply resides. Existing methods for water desalination, however, are grossly expensive, highly unsustainable, and unfit for developing countries and non-coastal regions.

Enter Desolenator, a U.K.-based startup co-founded by CEO William Janssen and “Rainmaker” Alexei Levene, which aims to address one billion of those affected by the global water crisis. Desolenator offers the world’s first affordable, compact, and portable device that uses solar technology to purify water.

Unreasonable sat down with William and Alexei to discuss water scarcity, its imminent ramifications, and Desolenator’s potential to empower rural communities to create and profit from clean water.